LA Times Festival of Books at USC

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is filling the University of Southern California campus this weekend with free outdoor programming and paid headliner events. (latimes.com) The 31st annual festival runs Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19, 2026, at USC’s University Park Campus in Los Angeles. General admission is free, and the official program lists author panels, signings, music, family activities and campus exhibitions. (latimes.com) (sites.usc.edu) USC describes it as the country’s largest literary festival, and the campus schedule spreads events across Times panels, USC-hosted discussions, live performances and activity zones. The Los Angeles Times site also lists separate ticketed conversations with authors and celebrity guests. (calendar.usc.edu) (sites.usc.edu) (latimes.com) This year’s lineup includes more than 550 storytellers, according to event coverage from KTLA and other local outlets. Organizers told local media they expected attendance to reach about 155,000 over the two days. (ktla.com) (msn.com) The festival has become a spring fixture in Los Angeles, drawing publishers, independent booksellers, schools and arts groups onto one campus. Time Out Los Angeles said the event’s outdoor fair includes bookseller stalls, readings, signings and culinary demonstrations. (timeout.com) (calendar.usc.edu) USC’s festival site highlights family programming and themed areas alongside academic panels, including music programming and hands-on spaces such as the Classical California Harmony Hub. We Like L.A.’s weekend guide also points readers to exhibitor booths, outdoor stages, demos and activity areas. (sites.usc.edu) (welikela.com) Opening-day coverage showed long lines and packed walkways as readers moved between talks and signings on Saturday, April 18. The Los Angeles Times published a photo gallery from the first day showing authors stopping by its portrait studio between panels and speaking engagements. (msn.com) (latimes.com) For Sunday, April 19, the official advice is straightforward: check the campus program before heading in, because events are spread across multiple venues and some marquee conversations require separate tickets. The festival closes out another weekend in which USC turns into a city-sized book fair. (sites.usc.edu) (latimes.com)